Sinister Cinema

McKenna is brilliant as an insane killer. Reed is a carnival boxer who falls under her spell and ends up hideously scarred from her jagged fingernails. Soon, young men turn up slain. This forgotten film is choked with gothic atmosphere and moments of true terror. McKenna's face is unique, having the eyes of Agnes Moorehead and the mouth of Barbara Steele, reeking with seductive power. She lures men to their deaths like a spider. One of our best psychological horror films.

This is a fantastic film filled with a plethora of haunting Images. It is almost too deep to describe in a simple synopsis. Let it suffice to say that the story deals with a gem-carver in old Prague who becomes entangled in a web of murder plots and other strange supernatural happenings. The Golem "creature" is not nearly as pronounced as it is in Paul Wegener's 1920 classic, but this is none the less a powerful psychological horror film laden with mysticism, mystery, and magic. This...

This is a grim, superbly made Euro-horror film, much in flashback. Garco's car breaks down as he's driving through the dark countryside. He seeks help from a strange family. Their father insists he spend the night. He soon learns they have a mysterious secret and live in fear of a horrid wurdulak, who wishes to kill them all and transform them into the same kind of horrible creature. This is one of those movies where you don't know which character to trust. There are some intense heart-staking...

Ward plays a Frankenstein descendent who's attending college in the U.S. With encouragement from his professor, Ward develops a wireless brain control device. After he's thrown out of school by the college dean, he decides to use his device to gain revenge on those who wronged him. He turns one of his college pals into a murdering mindless slave, who trudges about campus, slaying Ward's enemies. The dog and cat fight scene with Viktor using his brain device to direct the animals is priceless....

A wonderful Russian fantasy about a legendary warrior who fights to save his people from an assortment of horrible monsters including a dragon, a wind demon, and other legendary creatures. There are many great scenes and the special effects, for the time, were very well done. The scenes involving the wind demon and the "mountain of living men" are particularly memorable. A great epic film that we highly recommend. This special two-disc edition contains the original foreign language widescreen...

An acting troupe secures an old theater for the group's new play. They are warned by the aging caretaker that the theater is home to a vampire, who might be awakened. The group pays no heed, though, and when the vampire shows up, it sees that the most beautiful member of the troupe looks lke the woman he once loved in real life. Things spiral downhill from there. Lots of gothic thrills in this well-made chiller.

The setting is Prague in the 1860s. Walbrook plays Balduin, a handsome young student. He and his pals celebrate the birthday of the innkeeper's daughter, Lydia, for whom Balduin has affections. But into the inn walks a beautiful singer named Julia. Balduin is swept away by her charms, but winning her love comes with a price; for hovering over her life is the sinister Dr. Carpis, a Satan-like figure who's more of a human shadow than a flesh-and-blood being. Carpis "helps" Balduin obtain Julia's...

Mason, his wife, and their beautiful young companion move into an eerie mansion. Odd things begin to happen. It's soon obvious that a murdered woman's ghost is taking over Lockwood's body. Price plays the loving doctor who's unable to combat the uncanny powers draining her life. One great scene has Lockwood playing the piano, then suddenly breaking into a strange piece she's never played before. Look for veteran horror star Thesiger in a small but important role. Fine acting, beautiful...

What a great Euro-horror film this is! Five people travel by car through a howling storm. They end up in a nearby forgotten, shunned inn. It is occupied by a strange man and his wizened, clairvoyant mother. A seance ensues that shows in flashback the travelers' involvement in sexual depredations, crime, and murder. The clairvoyant tells them that the murdered man will soon return to exact his revenge. Then, in an amazing climax, the proceedings come to a catastrophic ending all to the sound of...

One of the best drive-in movies of the 1970s. Two college kids come to a backwater town doing research on a "bigfoot" creature that's inhabits a gloomy nearby swamp. Before long they find themselves caught in a sequence of chilling events, culminating with a head-to-head confrontation with the creature. Taylor and Elam are excellent, but Fimple and Carson steal the show as the energetic college kids who soon realize they've bitten off far more than they can chew. The final 15 minutes of this...

Lee, in his last screen performance as Dracula, is fantastic as he swings between serious moments of horror and outright comedy. Dracula takes a mortal woman to bear his son. After he's born, the Count turns mom into a vampire. However, when she can't make it back to her coffin before sunrise, the Count finds himself stuck with raising the young tyke, which isn't easy since the young vampire balks at putting the bite on people. Eventually the son decides he wants to "make it on his own" in the...

A woman leaves her husband one stormy night. She drives through the night on a lonely road, but her windshield breaks and she seeks help from a strange man and his butler who live in a creepy mansion. The woman spends the night, but next morning she finds no trace of her hosts. Finding her car repaired, she leaves; but she soon realizes it's impossible for her to exit the grounds. She is lost in some kind of fantastic paradox that defies reality. This is a beautiful yet subtly terrifying film...